New York - ranked No. 10, up three spots from last year - remains North America's costliest city, followed by Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Chinese cities - including Hong Kong at No. 4, Beijing at No. 14, and Shanghai at No. 20 - climbed the list due mostly to the yuan's strength after being de-pegged from the U.S. dollar.

With the Brazilian real rising about 20 percent versus the U.S. dollar over the past year, Brazilian cities Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro surged to No. 34 and No. 40 from No. 119 and No. 124, respectively."